The adventures of a Hobbit

Today has consisted of wondering around large(ish) areas within cages/fences that are filled with different animals from all over the world. Twycross zoo is great for the children and families of all ages as it is packed with such a variety of animals to learn about and also has a discovery area for children to learn more! The park itself has plenty of refreshments available throughout the journey around all the different animals. However, not only is this zoo good and entertaining for people it is also helping to conserve many animals that are at a large threat of either endangerment or extinction. At least half of the different species were either endangered or held a large threat towards endangerment. It was not but 7 weeks ago when one of the main endangered species, the Amur Leopard's, had their cubs. Of course this was good for zoo business and most importantly to help conserve this particular species! It's a particularly sad thought that the reason some of these anim...

If you're a young adult looking for an adventure here is a place not to go.... In April 2014, a close friend and myself went on a spontaneous trip to Rhosneigr on the isle of Anglesey and found a cheap campsite to stay on for two nights. However, we got there on after a three hour train journey and put up the tent and it suddenly hit us this isn't going to be very interesting. So we went for a wander along the little village and to the coast, it was very beautiful (even if it was cloudy and almost raining). We spent majority of that day around through the sand dunes and along the beach until returning to our tent for food and sleep. Along with already discovering what the village had to hold (twice!), the plans for the next day seemed limited.... especially considering it started raining that day! Thus we attempted to walk to the next town, however, we only made it to a nearby village. I'll admit it was pretty exciting because we'd not been here before and looked...

(Delayed post, lost internet as typing and got slightly carried away with the alcohol, oops) It's finally Friday, (HALLELUJAH!)  and oh boy has this week dragged! Today I shall be seeing my beloved friend from University whom I haven't seen since the end of May! And oh yes the plan for tonight is most certainly going to involve plenty of alcohol! The other day I found my shot dispenser which I received as a gift from my father for my birthday last year and I realise I haven't really used it so much. However, it is a great appliance as there is no need for worrying whether the alcohol will be spilled or not (don't want a waste hey!). I realised this would also be a great opportunity to use my shot glasses (the cheap ones of course). As previously mentioned, I am indeed a fan of the Cornish county and adore travelling around that area, whilst also collecting items that wouldn't be a waste of money. Yes, that's right, I have shot glasses from different towns and v...

So I have just completed my first year at University studying Counselling Psychology and whilst there were some stressful times I thoroughly enjoyed it! However, that was just the first year and was pretty much an introduction to what is to come. Thus, this educational year I will be a man with a plan (woman technically speaking but this fits better) and I have set a pretty good one at that. 1. Where I lacked in achieving a higher grade last year I made up for in partying the night away and consuming far too much alcohol. I have recently come to realise that the first year was the year for booze, and so my main aim for this upcoming year is to reduce my alcohol consumption and clubbing attendance. Several studies (and my own personal experience) have come to show that alcohol can affect memory and concentration, thus limiting the full potential of an individual. Majority of you will know that there are student nights/popular nights for students, particularly many in cities and most o...

So i've got a little obsession with dinosaurs, may have 1 or 2 or 30 odd dinosaur toys/teddies about (also had a duvet but my dog sadly ripped it apart). Recently I was presented with the most amazing gift ever, it was a dinosaur necklace. Yup a necklace, with a dinosaur charm on it! How cool is that?!?! Anyway this came about as I was dropping subtle hints to my boyfriend that I hadn't worn a necklace in such a long time. I'll admit I was a little worried when he said i'd love my gift as he'd previously mentioned some weird ass birthday presents. But it turns out he was just super cool and cute enough to find a necklace chain and get the little dinosaur charm and put it together to make this beauty I wear every single day. Honestly never thought he'd come up with such a brilliant idea, this is the most unique thing i've ever had and i'm going to treasure it forever because it's too damn freaking adorable!

I'd like to take a different turn in the topic of my post today, as I know a few people who are/have been feeling the heat and it's getting them down. Okay, so a nervous feeling you get is from certain activities that make you feel a little scared or anxious, e.g. when realising a deadline for a report is due within the next week and you have done little to complete it, or you have a public speech to make and have difficulties in public speaking. However, these nerves are okay and nothing to particularly worry about (without nerves something is going wrong!). It is only when those nerves start to overwhelm the body and take control of day to day activities and this can lead to developing stress. Signs of stress could involve a loss/gain of appetite thus resulting in a weight loss/gain, a change in sleeping pattern by having too much/little sleep, a lack of concentration can be developed from stress. So question is, how do we control that nervous feeling? Yes, a little bit of ...

Okay, so I purchased Looking for Alaska - John Green  sometime around November/December and read about 30 odd pages of it (mainly on train journeys) up until last Friday. For some reason I just picked up the book and thought oh I will read this, and so I did. Only took me till Saturday morning to finish didn't it! I've never really been much of a reader, mainly through lack of concentration, but this book caught my attention and kept it (I didn't even want to sleep that night so I could carry on reading). I loved every moment of this book, the way all the characters have been portrayed most certainly intrigued me and how they take situations. Although the book gave hints as to what was going to happen (not quite predictable as it left room for various ideas), I thought it was quite good, the subtle metaphors given throughout were particularly fascinating and not to mention it most certainly brought tears to my eyes at parts! The ending, however, was by far the best part in ...

Worrying about your funds at University? If you have never really been shopping with a budget it's time to start! Next time your parents or guardians go out shopping, go with them! While you walk around with them there are several things to pay attention to: 1. Look for the supermarkets own brands, e.g. products that say 'Asda Price' or 'Tesco Value'. By doing this you will be better off majority of the time! 2. Look at the price labels and it will say the cost per KG, this is always good because then you will know you are getting more out of your money. 3. Look for deals! Deals are the most important thing when shopping as a student. Forget the smart price or Tesco value, if you can get more for what you pay for then you're sorted! 4. This may not be a regular thing to do, but maybe 2 times a year at the most. Buy in bulk! Start off your first year with getting big boxes of items, e.g. clothes washing up powder and pasta! You can get the massive bags...

Okay so I admit I am a super huge fan of  Alice in Wonderland , I loved the animated film as a kid and oh my life when Tim Burton made his 2010 version I cried with excitement (TIM BURTON IS AMAZING, best director of all time), not forgetting Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp (dies inside). I've also recently being playing the computer game  Alice: Madness Returns,  not really a big gamer but this game is my favourite by far! However, down to the point! It was my birthday the other week and I received one of the most amazing gifts ever, and yes it is Alice in Wonderland related! My mum and sister got me this amazing necklace, it's so quirky, adorable and I love it! Definitely recommend any Alice fans to get this for themselves or as a gift to others! Alice in Wonderland  'Drink Me' necklace 

Just sorting through all my junk to move back to uni and to move house back home and remembering that before i went to uni I was really reluctant about going. I had no idea what course I wanted to pursue in or anything and wanted to carry out some sort of apprenticeship in Cornwall because that is my dream home town and they only had colleges in the places I wanted to go. However, I thought it was not possible to go and do a college course as I would have no where to live so far away so I thought it may be a good idea to continue a course I was studying at school, that happened to be Philosophy. As much as I enjoyed the course I couldn't see this leading into a profession I would enjoy, thus this lead to much frustration and struggle in happiness of my choice. However, it was not long after I decided this that I was on my way back from a Nickleback concert (SO GOOD!!!!) that I realised I wanted to help people as I had recently raised money for charity and that is something I love d...

Okay so I went away with some of my friends last year to Newquay in Cornwall and it was a rather fun, drunken holiday as I can slightly remember! Last week I went to the same location with only a couple of my friends and had a more relaxing beach holiday filled with majority of the days being very hot! This year was a last minute kinda deal, we traveled down to Newquay via the Megabus (£10 return!!!!) and then a train from Plymouth (£9 return!!!!). That's darn good i'd say, not forgetting Trethiggy campsite which was only £7ppn! During these 8 days away we spent 2 of them travelling mostly and thankfully I wasn't travel sick this year because vomiting in the presence of strangers has an uncomfortable appeal. During the days we were there, 2 rained and the rest were sunny if not cloudy (but still very warm), thus you can imagine we got very, VERY burnt. If you're looking for a very cheap get away Newquay is definitely the place to go, whether you want a beach holiday (...

Okay so recently I have been made aware that I gained quite a bit of weight at University through all the alcohol and food binges of extremely cheap but fatty foods. Thus I have reduced my alcohol consumption significantly since being back at home, mainly because I have lost interest in going clubbing as such and partially because it is very expensive. Not only am I doing this to lower my weight but I also aim to improve my fitness and I am proud to say that I will be 8 weeks clean of smoking and have maintained the will power to continue as a non smoker! To reduce my weight I have recently started the 5 2 diet in the hope this will help me get back in shape! The 5 2 diet consists of eating 500 calories on 2 days as far apart from each other, whilst the other 5 days involve eating regularly! Seems great i'd say, just the getting started bit would be the hardest! As I am vegetarian I found it quite easy to find low calorie foods, that such as cucumber, celery and mushrooms. Howeve...

Blackpool! I think I have only ever been to Blackpool when I was a little'n, however the spontaneous trip with my two friendlings went surprisingly awesome. This trip was definitely more themed for younger adults, with all the drinking and the shopping. Although it is also a good trip for families with all the arcades and the adventures going on such as mini golf, sea life and dinosaur world! Considering we only went for 3 days we definitely made the most of it, going to mini golf and seeing my friend get a hole in one on the last hole was brilliant. Unfortunately we were too big to go on the donkey rides, so we just had to watch with envy. Typical tourist photo of a seagull!

This week was most certainly one of my favourite, most memorable week that I have had so far. Weston-Super-Mare is home to two of the many piers located around the UK, however Weston is known for the Grand Pier that burnt down in 2008 which was then rebuilt and reopened to the Grand Pier that is very popular today. Weston-Super-Mare also has the Birnbeck Pier which has been closed down for many years due to it's unstable condition. When I first saw the Birnbeck Pier it slightly frightened me due to it's morbid appearance, but on a second viewing I found the Pier to be some what beautiful in an old and damaged way. I've never really taken an interest in churches before either, however the Old Church of St.Nicholas, in Uphill offered the most magnificent view all down along the beach to the other end of Weston. We chose a good day to go to visit the church which made it look even more beautiful as it already was and I still cannot get over how amazing the view was from up h...

These past couple of months I've had off from University have been great and full of adventure with awesome people, and summer still isn't over!  I've visited so many places in Wales in the past few years and it never ceases to amaze me with all it's countryside beauty, that of many fields, mountains and of course don't forget the sheep! In the last week of May I went to Shell Island in Wales, I thought the place would be a bit boring and dull considering it's not a mountain. However, spending the week there was amazing! The place was an island surrounded by mountains, lots and lots of mountains, even Mount Snowdon was visible. Also of course being by the sea topped it all off, I never knew I could experience nature in such a popular tourist attraction. If you're into scenery and nature (especially caterpillars!) I would definitely recommend taking a visit there, even if it is just a weekend break.  This is Shell Island it it's most beautiful ...